No Thank You

No Thank You, the Philadelphia-based band led by vocalist/guitarist Kaytee Della Monica along with bassist Evan Bernard and drummer Nick Holdorf, started in 2016 as an exercise in catharsis through punk-inflected indie rock. That sense of self-reflection and emotional release has often been at the center of No Thank You’s music and now the band’s third LP, Embroidered Foliage, finds Della Monica unflinchingly exploring a tumultuous period of life to create No Thank You’s boldest and most urgent release to date. No Thank You’s 2018 sophomore LP, All it Takes to Ruin It All, served as a wellness check between grieving and healing after the passing of Della Monica’s father, and she continued to struggle with the shadow of mortality during the making of Embroidered Foliage. “Grieving is an ugly beast that reared its nasty head in ways I couldn’t have imagined,” Della Monica explains. “Writing our last record was cathartic but I needed more.” In the space between records, she began to feel overwhelmed by her constant preoccupation with impermanence and the palpable anxiety and panic it was causing. “I have a tendency to create catastrophic distractions to deter from my problems,” Della Monica says. “I looked for trouble and it manifested in the form of a very short lived, intensely emotional and intimate relationship.” Embroidered Foliage chronicles Della Monica grappling not only with the shrapnel of this relationship, but also the deep introspection and revelations in the wake of its dissolution. Della Monica’s personal upheaval is reflected sonically on Embroidered Foliage by No Thank You’s most confident songwriting yet. It ripples through opener “Saturn Return,” where concentric circles of distorted guitar loop around Holdorf’s pummeling drums and the unshakeable foundation of Bernard’s bass playing. It’s a fitting introduction to the unexpected heaviness of the band’s sound on Embroidered Foliage, a powerful and dynamic musical backing for Della Monica’s stunning vocals and gift for melody. Embroidered Foliage often branches off in unpredictable directions. Throughout the album No Thank You excel at packing a lot of song into bite-sized run times—like on the electronics-kissed power-pop of “Letter Writing Contest” or its neighbor “Everything or Nothing,” where a story of relationship micromanagement lies at odds with the maximalist arrangement and then it abruptly ends. No Thank You move into symphonic slowcore on the album’s title track with its melancholy burn and strings-backed outro, while “Airport” sways in a storm of building suspense then explodes into a chorus of towering guitars and soaring vocal harmonies. The result is No Thank You’s most varied and compelling work, allowing the band to revel in moments where sonic beauty and decay collide. And while the experiences that led to Embroidered Foliage were fraught Della Monica senses that she may have found something in the process. “I was likely following my usual pattern of self destruction, but what ultimately came from the introspection was of the utmost importance: a glimmer of self worth.” (youtube)